Time’s up for Ontario high school ‘victory lap’

Victory lap

STAFF PHOTO/SJOERD WITTEVEEN

Rebecca Tam is a Grade 11 student at Markville Secondary School. She agrees it can be difficult for some students to figure out their academic future, but thinks they can get guidance through co-op programs, assemblies and workshops rather than returning for more high school after completing Grade 12.

What do Markham high school students think of having the number of credits they are allowed to take capped at 34?
Students responded with casual interest and curiosity when asked about the provincial government’s move, designed to save money and put an end to the so-called victory lap where students take additional courses after Grade 12.
This means the maximum number of credits that can be taken is 34, while the required number of credits needed to graduate remains at 30.
The move effectively does away with the option where, for a myriad of reasons, Grade 12 students would take an additional year or semester after their supposed final year of high school.
Most were unaware of Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan’s speech this past March on the 2012 budget, where it was announced all Ontario high schools will have a 34-credit cap imposed on them.
Four years of high school is standard across almost all of North America, Mr. Duncan argued. Despite the elimination of the Ontario Academic Credit (OAC) or Grade 13 nearly a decade ago, Ontario continues to accommodate up to 20,000 students returning for a fifth year, many of whom have already received their secondary school diploma.
The province argues doing away with victory laps will save $22 million a year.
However many parents, administrative officials and students have expressed concerns about who will be impacted by the move.
New Canadians struggling with learning English, those with physical, mental or learning disabilities, or those who suffered from physical injuries or personal problems and fell behind are thought to be at the highest risk.
Many students also return to upgrade marks, or gain more of the prerequisite courses needed for their desired post-secondary program.
Others return to continue their varsity sports careers in hopes of earning scholarships.
There is also the issue of gaining enough independence and maturity to go into post-secondary education away from home. The students who return to high school for more courses are sometimes the ones who don’t feel ready.
There is hope that adequate exceptions will be built in.
The number of students the decision may affect is not insignificant. It is estimated 14 per cent of Ontario’s Grade 12 students return for a victory lap.
Grade 12 students, such as Naeem Javed of Markville Secondary School, dislikes the overall pressure not having that grade 13 option may bring. He also knows of a peer who planned his entire high school education with the intended full use of the victory lap. It was the only way the student could obtain all the credits he wanted.
“I really don’t think the government should add any restrictions to the education system,” said Naeem. “Students may be planning to go into two different fields and for that, may need to take extra classes. In that case they may need more than 34 credits. More restrictions on the education system just make it that much harder, and puts that much more pressure on students.”
Others, such as Bill Crothers High School student Alyssia Robichaud, who is in Grade 12, seemed to take the news in stride and view it as a positive decision if the right precautions are taken.
“I believe that the province’s decision to limit the victory lap would be an extremely useful plan to save money throughout the year. It will teach students such as myself to prioritize and learn that we need excellent grades to go to post-secondary considering that we won’t be allowed to go back to high school for an extra year to try to make our marks higher.”
Rebecca Tam is another MSS student. In Grade 11, she is set to graduate a year earlier than the norm.
“I personally agree with the province’s decision as it encourages students to successfully graduate in four years and prevents any unnecessary extension of high school education,” Rebecca says.
“However, it is true that many students are unsure of their future and need guidance, (but) I believe that assemblies, co-op programs, and workshops are able to provide this guidance, not victory laps.”
She suggests a possible amendment to the proposed plan.
“Looking at the 34-credit cap, I do question whether it limits students who do not plan to take a victory lap,” Rebecca said.
“Assuming a student takes 8 courses per year, along with summer school credits every year, it would amount to a total of 35 credits. Perhaps the quota can be increased to 35 in order to allow other students to take as many courses as they like within the four years. I believe that to limit victory laps, it should pertain to the duration of time spent in high school as opposed to credit numbers.”
Beatrix Li, a Grade 12 student at Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School offers another suggestion: “Perhaps we should only limit the people who constantly take the victory lap over and over again; I know some people who actually do that.”
No matter the outcome, students currently in high school, or those returning to high school next year across Ontario are advised to plan for which credits they should be taking in the future, to ensure they graduate smoothly and on time.
The money saved from the implementation of the 34-credit cap has been planned to aid in the funding of full-day kindergarten, small classes, and tuition rebates, the government says.
The credit cap is slated for implementation in September 2013.

Jasmine Law is a co-op student from Markham’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School doing a journalism placement at the Markham Economist & Sun.